Inspector Gadget - In the Mirror
by TohruIchi
Summary: While growing up, you probably thought the good old Inspector was all smiles and obliviousness. I bet, this never even crossed your mind. . .


In the Mirror  
An Inspector Gadget Oneshot  
Inspired by the picture 'Gadget Struggle' by torokun

By TohruIchi

The night rain poured down heavily on the roof as young Penny Gadget sat down at the kitchen table, finishing off the last of the dinner on her plate. Her blonde pigtails bounced as she placed her fork on her now empty plate and sighed. "That was a really good dinner. Wasn't it Brain?" She asked her four-legged companion. Brain gave a satisfied bark as he slipped out of his chair and into the living room where he climbed onto the couch to rest. "Oh sure Brain. Leave me with the dishes." She laughed as she took the two empty dishes to the sink. The rain smacked against the window above the sink with great force as she climbed up onto a stool so she could reach the faucet. "That's some storm out there." She thought to herself as she looked out the window. Penny reached for the faucet and then quickly pulled away. "That's right! I almost forgot. Uncle Gadget is taking a shower. I don't want to burn him again. I'll go see if he's done." Penny hopped down from the stool and ran down the hall towards the bathroom, passing by the now sleeping canine. Penny ran to the bathroom and stopped when she noticed the door was open. "That's strange. Why would Uncle Gadget leave the door open?" Penny stood there for a few seconds and noticed something else. She couldn't hear him. Her bumbling uncle could never go quiet for five minutes, let alone take a shower without singing a song or talking to himself about one thing or another. In fact, despite the heavy rain and running of the water, she didn't hear her uncle at all that night.

"Uncle Gadget! Are you ok?" She asked as she walked towards the open door. She almost expected to see a MAD agent in there with him or even worse, Doctor Claw himself! She stopped at the door and peeked in to see what was happening. Luckily for her, no evil doers in there. Just her lovable uncle, but something was off. He stood in front of the pedestal sink, a damp, white towel wrapped around his waist; his mechanic miracle of a body staring her in the face. Many a time had Penny seen the miracles her uncle could perform. He could reach his arms to any length, extend his legs beyond imagination and stretch his neck to see a mile away. She had seen the wide array of gadgets that now rested inside him, but never before had she seen the full extent of the surgery that had been performed on her beloved guardian and never before had she seen him in the state he was in now. He was not happy and loud like he always was. He was calm, quiet and composed and he held a look in his eye Penny has never seen. A deep, deep sadness. "Uncle?" She whispered, but it was unheard. He was too deep in his own train of thought. His hands rested on the sides of the sink as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. His medium black locks dripped water down his back and down his bangs into the sink as he stood there. He raised his right hand to his face, causing several gadgets to appear from his fingertips. All handy gadgets of the trade, given to him by Professor Von Slickstein for fighting crime. Penny watched as his sensitive springy legs contracted and relaxed, delicately raising and lowering his body and watched as two mechanical arms reached out of his head and slowly maneuver in front of him. Such grace. Never before had she seen him use his gadgets with such gentle and tender motions. Usually they just glitched out on him or something that he didn't ask for would just happen instead, but this time he had perfect and harmonious control. The inspector shook his hand, causing more gadgets to appear. All handy things a good inspector needs. A powerful flashlight, a lock pick and a fountain pen to name a few. Penny watched as the robot arms retracted into his cranium. Her uncle stared intently at his hand for a few seconds and then narrowed his eyes.

"Why?" He silently whispered. "Why me?" Penny had never heard his voice like this before. It was low and cold, free of all emotion, despite his naturally animated voice. He shook his hand, causing the gadgets to retreat to their hiding spots and returned his hand to the side of the sink. He gripped the sides of the sink as his expression changed. It was one of angst and anger. Tears began to well up in his eyes as he spoke. "Why must I live life as a freak machine?" He asked. Penny watched as the tears began to roll down his face. He was crying. "Why can't I just be normal again? Am I even human anymore?" Tears poured down Penny's face as she watched her uncle stand there in tears. He leaned over the sink to support himself as the thought of what he is sunk into his legs, making them limp. Penny leaned against the door frame in tears. Never had she even suspected her uncle was so miserable. Never had she known the pain in his heart. As he cried, Penny could hear the silent clicking and whirring of the gadgets in his body, silently keeping him alive. "I try to be oblivious, but it doesn't seem to work anymore." He sobbed.

"So that's it." Penny thought. "That's why he acts the way he does." Penny's eyes poured tears like a faucet at the thought. If only she had known sooner that her beloved uncle suffered such. She would have done something about it. She sniffled as her nose began to run, causing her uncle to snap back to reality. He quickly turned around and pointed his handy water cannon finger at the door. Then he saw her, peeking in through the partially open door. He had opened it to let the excess steam escape the room and had forgotten to close it. His eyes widened when he realized she has probably heard him and worse, she could see him for what he really was. A walking hardware store. He quickly put his hand down, causing the gadget to rapidly retreat away. His little love stared at him with tears pouring down her face like a leaky faucet. "Uncle..." She whimpered as she walked through the doorway, towards the inspector. He panicked and took a step back but was quickly met by the edge of the sink. Penny walked right up to him and quickly latched onto him. He watched as his little niece began to cry even harder. "Please don't cry Uncle." She sobbed into his towel. "Please don't be sad. You're wonderful. You're the best inspector in the whole world. So what if you have all these gadgets inside you, you're still human." She looked up at him and sniffled. "And I love you." That was all it took. His shoulders relaxed as his mechanical arms, without even thinking, wrapped around her several times. He held her close as his tears increased all the more.

"I love you too, Penny." He sobbed. The rain pounded against the roof as the two held onto each other.

"Don't feel sad Uncle. You're a good person. Even if you were all machine, we would still love you. We're a team. You and Brain and me. We'll always be there for you. We love you, Uncle Gadget." Inspector Gadget held onto Penny as tight as he could without hurting her. He held onto her and cried until he could cry no more. That was all he needed to keep going. The love of his family.

"Well I think I'd better get dressed now, don't you think?" He said. His voice was back to normal now and his demeanor restored so suddenly. His long arms uncoiled around her and retracted back to their normal length. Penny hesitantly let go of her uncle and frowned. Was he better or was he just playing ignorant?

"But Uncle," Penny muttered.

"Not another word." He interrupted. "I need to go change into my pajamas and you need to get ready for bed. It's not good for someone so young to be up this late." He said as he scooted her out of the bathroom. "Now off you go." Penny watched as her uncle walked down the hall with that familiar spring in his step, straight into his room. She lowered her head as she walked with a heavy step towards her room. Never had she seen her uncle like she had this night and now he was suddenly back to normal. She wondered if she had even helped him. As she reached her door a familiar cranking noise approached her. She looked over her shoulder to see her uncle's smiling face. He kissed her cheek and whispered into her ear. "Thank you." Then retracted back to his room, smiling at her all the way. Penny smiled just before his head disappeared behind the doorway and then walked into her room. She did her job. While Penny got ready for bed, the inspector glanced at a picture on his nightstand. It was of him, Penny and Brain and the two were entwined in his stretchy arms. He smiled as he looked at the picture and said only two words.

"Thank you."


End file.
